Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-03-21

southerners, he firmly believed that leach
of the old states had legal and
indisputeble right by its indigid-
ual Constitution, and by its act of Union,
to leave at will the great Union into
which each had separately entered as q
sovereign state. This was with him an
article of faith of which he was IS sure as
of any divine truths he found in the Bible.
! This fact must be kept always in mind by
those who would rightly understand his
character or the course he pursued in
1861. He loved the Union for which his
father and family in the previous century
had fought so hard and done 80 much.
! But he loved his own state still more.
! She was the sovereign to whom il the
| first place he owed allegiance, and whose
orders, as expressed through her legally
constituted government, he was, he felt,
| bound in law, in honor and in love to
| obey without doubt or hesitation. This
! belief was the handspring that Kept the
Southern C0nfederacy going, as it was
also the cornerstone OF its constitution.
| In April, 1861, at Fort Sumter, Charles
! ton harbOr, the first shot was fired in a
! war that was only ended IN April, 1865, by
| the surrender of General Lees army at
| AppomatOx courthouse in Virginia. In
! duration it is the longest war Waged since
| the great NspoleOH's power was finally
crushed at Waterloo. AS the heroic strug-
! gle of a small population that was cut OF
| from all outside help against great, pop
UlOus and very rich republic, with every
market in the world open 10 it, and TO
whom all Europe was 8 recruiting ground,
| this secession war stands out prominently
! il the history Of the world. When the vast
num5e OF men put into the field by the
northern states, and the scale upon which
their observations were carried on, are
| duly considered, it must be regarded
as war fully equal in magnitude to
| the successful invasion of France by
Germany in 1870. Ii the mind be al
lowed to speculate on the course that
events will take in centuries to come, as
| they flow surely on with varying swift
ness to the ocean of the unknown future,
the influence which the result of this Con-
federate war is bound to exercise upon
mans future history will seem very great.
Think of what q power the reunited
States will be in another century! OF
what it will be in the Twenty first CEN
fury of the Christian era? If, as many
believe, G ina is destined to absorb all
Asia, and then to Oyerrun Europe, may it
not be in the possible future that Arma-
geddOn, the final contest between hea-
thendOm and Christianity, may be fought
out between China and North America?
Had secession been victorious, it is toll
erablY certain that the United States
would have broken up still further, and
instead of the present magnificent and
English-speaking empire, we should now
see in its place number of small powers
with separate interests.
Most certainly it was the existence of
slavery in the south that gave rise to the
bitter antagonism of feeling which led to
secession. But it was not to secure
emancipation that the north took up
arms, although during the progress of
the war Mr.. Lincoln proclaimed il, for
the purpose of striking his enemy a seri-
Gus blow. Lee hated slavery, but, as he
explained to me, he thought it wicked TO
give freedom suddenly to some millions
of people who were incapable Of using it
with profit TO themselves or the state.
He assured ne re had long intended to
gradually give his slaves their liberty.
He believed the institution to be q
moral and political evil, and more
hurtful to the white than the black
man. He had strong affection
for the negro, but he deprecated any
sudden or violent interferences on the
part Of the state between master and
slave. Nothing would have induced him
to fight for the continuance of slavery;
indeed, he declared that had he owned
every slave in the south, he would will
lingly give them up if by so doing he
could preserve the Union. He was OPP
posed to secession, and to prevent It he
would willingly sacrifice everything ex-
Cept honor and duty, which forbade him to
desert his state. When in April, 1861,
she formally and by an act OF her LegisIa-
ture left the Union, he resigned his COM
mission in the United States army with
the intention Of retiring to private life.
He endeavored to choose what was
right. Every personal interest bid
him throw his lot with the Union.
His property lay so close to Washington
that it was certain to be destroyed and
swept of every slave, as belonging to a
rebel. But the die was cast; he forsook
everything for principle and the stern
duty it entailed. Then came that final
temptation which opened out before him
g vista of power and Importance greater
than that which any man since Washing
ton had held in America. Gen. Longs
book proves beyond all further doubt that
he was offered the post of commander in
chief of the Federal army. Gen. Scott,
his great friend and leader, whom he
loved and respe cted, then commanding
that army, used all his influence to per-
suade him to throw in his lot with
with the north, but to no purpose.
Nothing would induce him to have
and part in the invasion of his own state,
much as he abhorred the war into which
he felt she was rushing. His love of
country, his unseltish patriotism, caused
him to rehnquish home, fortunes, GER
tain future, in fact everything for her
sake.
He was not, however, to remain q spec
tator Of the coming conflict; he was too
well known TO his countrymen in Vir-
ginia as the officer in whom the Federal
army had most confidence. The state of
Virginia appointed him Msjor General
and Commander n-Chiet of sll her mill /
tary forces. In open and crowded con-
vertion be formally accepted this posi- |
ton, saying with that dignity and grace |
of msnner which distinguished him, that |
be did so "trustlng III Almighty God, an
approving conscience, and the aid of my
fellow citizens ~ The scene WAS most |